Leaded glass windows, popularly known as stained glass windows, have been a popular tradition since before the Renaissance. The windows or panels are made of individually cut pieces of glass which are joined by soldered H-shaped lead cames that support the glass pieces at adjacent edges. The pieces of glass are often of different colors and cut in predetermined shapes to produce a desired design. The methods used to make the traditional product have changed little to the present time and require a tremendous amount of labor to hand cut, assemble and solder the pieces of glass and lead together.
Due to the increasing popularity of incorporating the windows or panels into doors and windows of buildings, such as churches and residences, and into various articles of furniture, there is a need for a method of making the articles in a faster, more efficient and more economic way.
In addition, there is a need to overcome the several disadvantages of traditional leaded glass windows. These disadvantages include weight and the inability of lead to adhere to the glass resulting both in air and water leakage and in loose glass pieces. Over time lead will decay or rot, clay applied to the window as an additional sealant will dry out, break up and fall out, and because of the weight the window will sag.
Various methods have been proposed for making simulated stained glass windows. The goals have been two-fold: to reduce the amount of labor needed, and thus the cost; and to make an article which is stronger and more trouble-free than those made in the traditional way.
A variety of prior art methods are disclosed in the following U.S. patents. Charlton, U.S. Pat. No. 4,619,850, teaches the use of a single glass pane with a unitary, pre-cast reticulated came network adhesively applied to the surface of the glass. Meltzer, U.S. Pat. No. 4,302,260, discloses a method of simulating stained glass using pieces of textured plastic joined at the edges by plastic adhesive. Goralnik, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,217,326 and 4,343,758, disclose a method of making a cut glass panel comprising a plurality of cut glass pieces joined by cames made of epoxy resin in a predetermined pattern. The method comprises the steps of: a) producing a silicone mold with grooves in the face in the pattern of the cames; (b) pouring epoxy resin into the grooves to form the flanges for one side of the glass panel and allowing it to cure; (c) removing the flanges from the mold; (d) positioning pieces of glass on the mold; (e) filling the spaces between adjacent glass pieces with epoxy resin; (f) arranging the previously formed flanges on the upper surface of the glass pieces so as to adhere to the epoxy resin at the top of the spaces; (g) allowing the entire assembly to cure; and (h) removing the completed panel from the mold.
Additional methods are disclosed in the following U.S. patents: Gibson, U.S. Pat. No. 3,183,140 (pattern etched into glass and filled with colored composition); Nussbaum, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,563,835, (L-shaped frame supporting glass pieces with a cover having flat strips simulating the cames); Taylor, U.S. Pat. No. 3,619,456 (plastic cames are pre-formed and a liquid plastic is poured into the spaces on top of a removable filler); McCracken, U.S. Pat. No. 3,713,958 (pane of clear glass supports color layers on one side and cames on the other); Holt, U.S. Pat. No. 4,127,689 (plastic cames disposed on top surface of a glass sheet); Ferro, U.S. Pat. No. 4,016,235 (die mold contains a plastic film with dark strips in registry with die recesses and has a liquid resin injected into mold cavity); and Del Grande, U.S. Pat. No. 4,252,847 (joins pieces of glass together with an adhesive containing solder).
Many of the foregoing procedures have their own disadvantages, including the inability to produce a realistic stained glass window, the cost to set up a production run and overall weakness of the resultant product. Thus, there is still the need for a method that produces a realistic product that still overcomes the aforementioned defects.